Superheroes via Ikea

What do you do when you have a piece of furniture that’s not looking it’s best, often if it’s something cheap from Ikea you’ll throw it away. But they can be given a new lease of life even if it’s a £7.49 Lack coffee table.

The table is £7.49 for a reason, the laminate surface it really thin and even with light use water will eventually lift the fibre board underneath. Much if not all of the process was an experiment, particularly as the artwork was on glossy paper rather than something more akin to newsprint. First job was to remove the legs and second was to give the damaged top a light (and I do mean light) sand with fine wet and dry paper (in dry mode of course). The surface was then sealed with a thin coat of primer. For the artwork I cut the images from an old copy of Mythology by Alex Ross, after all is art is rather special. I tried PVA glue but the glossy finish on the paper caused it to bubble when stuck down so I reverted to photo mount, but the thickness of the paper meant I had to be quiet generous.

To finish it was given five coats of satin coat polyurethane varnish. This might seem a little over the top but if gives the finish a depth that blends the edges of the images together.